This study will determine the effect of withholding essential nutrients (carbohydrates and amino acids) on macromolecular synthesis (DNA, RNA, protein, peptidoglycan and intracellular iodophilic polysaccharide) and growth of cariogenic strains of Streptococcus mutans. These studies will be correlated with the effect of antibiotics on macromolecular synthesis. The minimum biochemical and nutritional requirements for initiation of macromolecular synthesis and growth after nutritional deprivation will be examined. These types of studies emphasize the fluctuating nutritional environment of the oral cavity. It should be possible, then, to compare the biochemical and nutritional content of plaque from carious and non-carious teeth in an attempt to determine what factors in plaque enhance the growth and survival of cariogenic strains of S. mutans. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Mattingly, S.J. and D.C. Straus. 1977. Amino acid requirements of Streptococci associated with subacute bacterial endocarditis. Texas Reports on Biology and Medicine, in press.